


Bring Her Home

by BlackHunter666



Category: NASA RPF, Transformers (Bay Movies)
Genre: Bringing Oppy Home, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-16
Updated: 2019-02-16
Packaged: 2019-10-29 17:28:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17812307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackHunter666/pseuds/BlackHunter666
Summary: Someone has to go up there and bring Opportunity home. Ratchet's got just the skill set required to do it.





	1. Oppy Found

For such a small creation, she had travelled quite a long way and survived so much longer than anyone thought possible. Especially considering that humans were still so primitive technology wise. And yet, in some ways, humans were far more advanced than the Autobots. 

Trudging across the rust-red sand, Ratchet kept his scanners tuned for the faint hints of the tiny creation he'd come looking for. He'd been shown a replica and been given a full list of specifications to help with the search, along with a fairly accurate location of the last signal received. Now it was up to him to find it and bring his precious cargo home safely.

Reaching the last known point, he took a knee and looked around slowly. There, partly buried in the clinging sand. Reaching out cautiously, aware of how fragile she was, he waved his hand over the silent machine, creating just enough of a breeze to clear away some of the sand. Digging around with the other hand, he cleared away even more of the same, revealing the intricate structures so carefully designed for this brutal environment.

'Hello little Opportunity.' He uttered, activating the fine repair tools in his fingers.

Ratchet knew it was foolish to speak to this little machine, but he couldn't really help it. The people who had first come to ask about this mission had spoken with such tenderness and care about their creation. It seemed cruel not to show her the same care now that he was here to bring her home safely.

Clearing away as much of the sand as he possibly could, he smoothed out a soft cloth beside her and cradled carefully in two fingers. One last gentle brushing to clear away any lingering debris and he set Opportunity on the cloth and wrapped her loosely. Mostly to protect her from any of Ratchet's open joints and exposed pistons.

'Let's get you home at last.'

Tucking Opportunity securely behind one of his armour panels, Ratchet turned and started back towards the waiting ship in the distance. Strange how humans could launch their fragile little creations into the wider galaxy but still hadn't figured out how to retrieve them when their travels were at an end.

Such a waste of potential at times.


	2. Oppy's Home

To their credit, the humans had really tried to make a special event of the day. The small parking lot behind the Rocket Garden at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Center had been cleaned and festooned with bunting. There was even bunting draped on the Saturn IB behind them. A few grandstands had been arranged too so people could get a decent view of the proceedings.

Sitting on the pavement, Ratchet listened patiently to the droning speeches about mankind's greatest achievements and the advances that could be made because of the Mars missions. Speeches of thanks from men in suits, heads of the various departments in NASA and then from the President himself.

Ratchet could sense the crowd was getting restless, people whispering to their neighbours and fidgeting in their seats. All wondering if this was all just hype for some new attraction at the center. Spotting the signal as the band struck up a rather excitable tune; Ratchet popped his armour loose and lifted out his most precious cargo.

Setting her down tenderly, he loosened the clip holding the cloth closed and peeled away the protective layers. Still smeared with dust and loaded with debris from Mars, Opportunity once again stood on home turf. Around them, the crowd burst out into wild applause and cheering as several scientists came forward to examine the craft again.

'As promised, she's safe and home in one piece.' Ratchet nodded proudly.

'Thank you for going after her.' One of the scientists replied as he looked up.

Watching the scientists, Ratchet wasn't sure he'd ever understand why the humans were so determined to make their presence known in the wider galaxy before they were truly ready for what might come looking. He had to admire their determination though. Even when it looked like a hopeless cause, they still built intricate machines like Opportunity and sent them out to study everything beyond their world.

Maybe not a complete waste of potential then.


End file.
